593 
.0,7 


Bancroft  LAwury 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS   IN   1850  447 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  IN  1850. 

Journal  and  Letters  of  Jerome  T^utton,  Written  During  an 
Overland  Journey  from  Scott  County,  Iowa,  to  Sacramento 
I      iCounty,  California,  in  the  Year  Named!^ 

INTRODUCTORY. 

In  the  biographical  section  of  "The  History  of  Clinton 
County,  Iowa,"  published  in  1879  by  the  Western  Historical 
Company  of  Chicago,  appear  brief  sketches  of  Jerome  But- 
ton, on  page  792,  and  of  Lorenzo  D.  Button  and  Josiah  F. 
Hill,  on  page  810.    In  each  of  these  sketches  mention  is  made 
of  a  trip  taken  across  the  plains  to  California  in  the  spring 
and  summer  of  1850.    The  three  men  named,  with  others,  made 
this  long  journey  in  company,  and  one,  at  least,  of  the  party, 
kept  a  journal  of  the  expedition. 
^_       This  journal  follows,  together  with  several  supplementary 
J      letters  by  Jerome  Button,  the  writer  of  the  journal,  during, 
or  shortly  after  the  conclusion   of  the  journey.     Both  the 
journal  and  the  letters  appear  herein  essentially  as  they  were 
written.     To  avoid  repetition,   portions  of  the  letters  have 
"been  omitted,  and  in  the  furtherance  of  a  connected  narrative 
~^   occasional  detail  mentioned  in  the  letters  and  omitted  from 
,,j      the    journal    are    herein    included    in    the    journal.      These 
<f^  changes,  however,  are  few;  and  otherwise  no  alterations  have 
been  made,  except  to  eliminate  some  errors  of  punctuation 
and  orthography,  and  to  add  an  occasional  note  that  may  aid 

iQn  Dec.  29,  1850,  Jerome  Button  s6nt  his  journal  by  mail  from  Mormon 
Island,  Cal.,  to  Le  Roy  Button  in  Clinton  County,  Iowa.  Before  mailing 
it  he  inscribed  the  subjoined  note  on  the  fly  leaf: 

"You  must  let  no  one  see  my  journal.  There  are  so  many  mistakes  in 
it  and  I  have  not  had  time  to  rectify  them.  But  I  will  do  it  when  I  get 
home.  This  is  just  enough  to  l^eep  it  fresh  in  memory.  Remember  that  a 
good  part  of  it  was  written  after  dark  with  no  other  light  than  such  as  I 
could  make  out  of  buffalo  chips. — Jerome." 


448  ANNALS  OP  IOWA 

in  identifying  some  of  the  persons  mentioned.  Whenever 
reference  is  made  to  the  ''History  of  Clinton  County''  the 
volume  described  at  the  beginning  is  the  book  alluded  to. 

Before  they  started  on  this  journey,  the  three  men  named 
entered  into  a  contract  with  Rudolphus  S.  Dickinson  whereby 
he  was  to  provide  them  and  their  belongings  with  transporta- 
tion to  California,  and  with  board  during  the  trip.  Whether 
others  of  the  party  went  under  the  same  terms  is  not  known. 
For  this  service  Mr.  Dickinson  was  to  receive,  according  to 
the  evidences  at  hand,  $400  from  each  individual.  He  was, 
however,  imable  to  fully  perform  his  part  of  the  contract. 
When  the  party  reached  the  Missouri  river  it  became  evident 
that  from  thence  forward  the  burdens  of  the  horses  and  oxen 
must  be  lightened,  and  as  the  best  means  of  reaching  this 
end,  the  men  in  the  party  made  the  entire  remainder  of  the 
journey  from  the  Missouri  river  to  their  destination  on  foot. 
In  the  middle  fifties  when  many  of  the  party  had  returned 
to  Iowa,  Mr.  Dickinson  began  suit,  with  Cook  and  Dodge, 
of  Davenport,  as  his  attorneys,  against  Hill  and  the  two  Dut- 
ton  brothers  for  $400  each  under  this  contract,  but  as  he  had 
failed  to  provide  them  with  transportation  and  as  the  defen- 
dants had  performed  many  services  for  him,  he  obtained  only 
a  modified  judgment. 

It  is,  perhaps,  not  out  of  place  to  mention  here  that  the 
town  of  Dixon  in  Scott  county,  takes  its  name,  in  an  abbrevi- 
ated form,  from  the  leader  of  this  party,  who  opened  the  first 
store  in  the  community,  when  it  was  known  as  Little  Walnut 
Grove.  He  was  also  one  of  the  founders  of  the  town  of  Cal- 
amus in  Clinton  county.  On  page  633  of  the  ''History  of 
Clinton  County"  appears  the  following:  "Calamus  .  .  .  was 
platted  in  1860  by  R.  S.  Dickinson,  who  owned  the  land  on 
the  north  side  of  the  railroad.  He  and  his  son,  A.  L.  Dickin- 
son, built  the  first  store  of  consequence  and  opened  a  large 
line  of  merchandise  and  engaged  in  grain  buying." 

Jerome  Dutton,  with  his  brother  Lorenzo,  left  California 
in  the  early  summer  of  1854,  returning  by  way  of  the  Isthmus 
of  Panama,  thence  to  New  York  city  and  from  there  by  rail 
to  Davenport,  Iowa.    He  was  born  March  2nd,  1826,  in  Afton 


ACROSS  THE    PLAINS   IN   1850  449 

(then  Bainbridge)  Chenango  county,  N.  Y.,  being  the  fifth 
son  of  Charles  and  Nancy  (Pearsall)  Diitton.  His  mother 
died  in  1837,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  he,  together  with 
his  father  and  four  brothers,  Le  Koy,  Lorenzo  Dow,  John,  and 
Charles  went  to  Potter  county,  Penn.,  where  they  lived  with 
his  mother's  brother,  Samuel  Pearsall,  until  the  following 
spring.  They  then  went  by  raft  to  Madison,  Ind.,  where  they 
lived  with  another  uncle,  William  Dutton,  until  December, 
1838.  The  father  and  his  sons,  Le  Roy,  John,  Charles  and 
Jerome,  then  started  for  Iowa,  proceeding  down  the  Ohio  and 
up  the  Mississippi,  but  at  Alton,  Ills.,  the  river  became  frozen 
over  and  the  party  remained  there  until  the  spring  of  1839. 
They  then  continued  up  the  river  to  Comanche,  where  they 
left  the  boat  and  walked  out  to  the  home  of  another  uncle, 
William  Pearsall.  Here,  along  the  banks  of  the  Wapsipinicon 
river  in  the  south-east  corner  of  Olive  township,  Clinton 
county,  the  father  and  his  sons,  Le  Roy,  John,  Charles  and, 
in  1842  Lorenzo,  established  what  were  to  be  the  homes  of  four 
of  them  for  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  Here  the  brother 
John  died  in  1840,  the  father,  Charles  Sr.,  in  1859,  Le  Roy, 
Dec.  19th,  1894,  Lorenzo  D.,  March  13th,  1895.  Charles,  who 
survived  all  the  others,  died  April  2nd,  1899,  at  Durant,  Iowa, 
whence  he  had  moved  from  his  farm  in  Olive  township  only 
the  year  before. 

Until  his  marriage,  Jerome  Dutton  lived,  for  the  most  part, 
with  his  oldest  brother,  Le  Roy.  He  was  married  November 
16th,  1856,  at  Tipton,  Cedar  county,  Iowa,  by  Judge  W.  H. 
Tuthill,  to-Celinda,  a  daughter  of  Francis  and  Rhoda  (Chap- 
lin) Parker.  A  few  months  later  he  took  up  his  abode  on  his 
farm  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Wapsipinicon  in  Allen's 
Grove   township,    Scott   county. 

In  1859  he  bought  the  Buena  Vista  ferry  that  had,  some 
years  previously,  been  operated  by  Dr.  Amos  Witter,  and 
the  south  landing  of  which  Avas  on  the  north-east  corjner  of 
his  farm.  He  operated  this  ferry  until  the  fall  of  1864  when 
the  ferry  at  this  point  was  discontinued,  and  he  moved  to 
.the  neighboring  town  of  Dixon.     From  thence  he  moved  to 


450  ANNALS  OF   IOWA 

Wheatland,  in  Clinton  county,  in  the  fall  of  1865.  Here, 
directly  after  his  arrival,  he  opened  an  insurance,  real  estate, 
collecting  and  loan  office,  and  also  began  a  large  business 
as  an  auctioneer.  These  Avere  his  business  pursuits  for  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  He  held  many  minor  offices  in  his 
home  community  and  was  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  many 
years.  He  was  Postmaster  at  Wheatland  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  which  occurred  October  4th,  1893. 

References  to  Charles  Button,  Sr.,  or  his  sons  may  be 
found  on  pages  352,  363,  364,  365,  392,  792,  and  810  "His- 
tory of  Clinton  County."  C.  W.  D. 

Journal. 

Started  from  home^  for  California  March  31st,  1850,  and 
from  Allen's  Grove  [Scott  Co.]  April  3rd.  Stopped  over 
night  with  ]\Ir.  Owens  and  Bennett  in  Walnut  Grove  in  com- 
pany with  Daniel  Carlisle,  Josiah  Hill,  L.  D.  Dutton,  John 
Gochenour,'Sam,  Adam,  and  John  White  and  the  latter 's  wife. 
^Ir.  and  Mrs.  Powell,  Solomon  Gee  and  two  Irish  boys  from 
Illinois  by  the  name  of  John  and  Henry  Hart.     The  second 

night  we  stayed  at  Akerman's,   in  Posten's  Grove. 

Here  we  received  a  visit  from  Mr.  Owen  and  Andrew  and 
John  Posten.' 

April  5th  we  stayed  in  Tipton  at  the  home  of  Abraham 
Lett,  a  very  jovial  old  fellow.  We  had  a  ''rake  down"  there 
that  evening,  Adam  White  presiding  as  fiddler.  Left  Tipton 
April  6th,  and  after  ploughing  through  sloughs  all  day  we 
stopped  at  the  house  of  John  Johnston,  a  distance  of  five  miles 
from  Tipton. 


*Tlie  farm  of  LeRoy  Dutton,  in  Sec.  I,  Olive  township,  Clinton  county. 

^he  Mr.  Powell  mentioned  died  about  a  year  after  his  arrival  in  Cali- 
fornia. His  widow,  Elizabeth  Powell,  married  F.  E.  Rothstein,  in  March, 
1852.  Mr.  Rothstein  went  to  California  by  the  overland  route  in  1849, 
and  in  the  spring  of  1857,  he  and  his  wife  returned  to  Scott  county.  In 
1861  he  moved  into  Clinton  county,  and  built  and  operated  "Rothstein* s 
Mill," — a  landmark  for  many  years — on  the  north  bank  of  the  Wapsi- 
pinicon  river  in  Olive  township.  A  sketch  of  Mr.  Rothstein  is  given  on 
page  813,  "History  of  Clinton  County."  The  "Mr.  Owen"  last  mentioned 
was  John  Ervin  Owen,  whose  wife,  Diantha.  was  the  eldest  sister  of 
Celinda  Parker,  whom  Jerome  Dutton  subsequently  married.  Andrew  and 
John  Posten  were  sons  of  James  Posten.  James  Posten  was  the  earliest 
settler  in  the  northwest  comer  of  Scott  county,  and  "Posten's  Grove"  took 
its  name  from  him. 


ACROSS  THE   PLAINS   IN   185  451 

We  left  Johnston's  Sunday  morning  April  7th,  and  crossed 
the  Cedar  at  Washington's  Ferry.  We  traveled  two  miles 
farther  and  tarried  at  the  house  of  John  Doland.  .  .  . 

On  the  8th  Ave  arrived  at  our  Capitol  and  camped*  close  by 
the  College.  Iowa  City  is  not  a  very  pretty  place,  the  houses 
are  scattering  and  generally  very  small.  There  are  several 
small  churches,  however,  among  which  are  the  Congregational, 
Baptist,  Universalist  and  several  others.  The  State  House 
is  a  rather  good  looking  building  built  of  unhewn  stone.  We 
were  advised  at  Iowa  City  to  take  the  southern  route  on  ac- 
count of  the  scarcity  of  feed  on  the  northern,  but  I  now  be- 
lieve it  would  have  been  better  to  have  taken  the  northern 
route,  for  the  hay  and  corn  began  to  grow  very  scarce  as  soon 
as  we  left  the  city,  and  the  northern  is  a  much  nearer  route. 

On  the  9tli  we  crossed  the  Iowa  river  at  the  middle  ferry, 
drove  12  miles  and  stopped  at  the  house  of  William  Fr>\ 
Here  feed  began  to  grow  scarce,  and  we  started  in  the  morning 
of  the  10th  before  feeding  hay  simply  because  we  could  not 
get  it.  We  drove  four  miles  and  put  up  at  the  house  of  an 
old  bachelor  by  the  name  of  Lambert.  He  w^as  a  smart  look- 
ing man  and  had  everything  about  him  much  nicer  than  any 
other  man  on  the  road.  In  this  he  is  the  equal  of  old  man 
Dickerman.  We  got  corn  of  him  for  40  cents  per  bushel, 
and  went  about  five  miles  off  the  road  and  got  a  ton  of  hay 
delivered  for  $6.50.    We  laid  up  here  the  11th,  12th  and  13th. 

On  the  14th  we  left  Lambert's  and  crossed  English  river 
(on  a  bridge)  at  Warrensville,  and  after  traveling  over  a 
rough  and  sloughy  country  a  distance  of  20  miles  stopped  at 
the  house  of  John  Houston.  William  and  the  Parkers  stayed 
at  the  same  house  last  spring.^  We  got  no  feed  here  except 
what  we  hauled  with  us  20  miles. 

All  day  the  14th  the  country  is  about  the  same;  the  land 
high,  wet  and  cold.    We  stopped  near  Sigourney,  Keokuk  Co. 

iWilliam  R.  Pearsall,  Francis  Parker,  and  the  latter' s  son,  Francis 
Jackson  Parker.  The  three,  in  company  had  followed  this  route  to  Cali- 
fornia in  the  spring  of  1849.  William  R.  Pearsall  was  a  son  of  the  Wil- 
liam Pearsall  mentioned  in  the  introduction  hereto,  and  thus  a  cousin  of 
Jerome  Button.  His  wife,  Rhoda,  was  a  daughter  of  Francis  Parker, 
and  thus  a  sister  of  Jerome  Button's  future  wife. 


452  ANNALS   OF   IOWA 

The  country  begins  to  look  better  this  morning,  the  16th.  We 
drove  11  miles  today  and  laid  up  at  Louis  Gregory's,  the  best 
man  we  have  met  with  yet,  and  lives  in  the  prettiest  country 
we  have  passed  through.  He  sold  us  the  hay  off  his  stable 
roof,  and  it  was  the  cheapest  hay  we  have  bought  at  that.  We 
got  corn  from  a  man  that  lives  four  miles  off  the  road  for  55 
cents,  delivered. 

We  laid  by  again  the  17th,  18th  and  19th,  and  to  pass  away 
the  time  Daniel  Carlisle  bought  three  chickens  and  put  them 
up  at  a  distance  of  15  rods  to  be  shot  at  with  the  rifle  held  at 
arms  length.  I  killed  one  the  first  shot  I  made.  He  also  got 
two  turkeys  and  put  them  up  at  25  rods.  Ten  shots  brought 
them  both  down.  We  have  some  first-rate  marksmen  in  our 
crowd. 

On  the  20th  we  again  set  out  and  after  going  two  miles 
forded  the  north  branch  of  Skunk  river — a  beautiful  mill 
stream.  About  eight  miles  from  there  we  ferried  the  south 
fork.  Here  we  met  five  very  pretty  girls  on  their  way  to 
meeting  and  they  created  quite  a  sensation  throughout  the 
company.  The  country*  from  this  fork  back  a  distance  of  20 
miles  is  as  beautiful  a  country  as  ever  I  saw,  and  is  in  Keo- 
kuk Co.  After  crossing  the  south  fork  it  was  quite  different, 
being  very  hilly  and  sloughy.  We  camped  that  night  near 
Oskaloosa  the  county  seat  of  Mahaska  Co. 

On  the  21st  we  drove  into  Oskaloosa  and  there  heard  that 
a  Californian  named  Hudson  had  died  and  been  buried  there 
the  day  before,  and  the  citizens  mistrusted  that  his  remains 
had  been  dug  up.  We  went  one  mile  beyond  town  and  put 
up  at  the  house  of  E.  Hale.  After  we  had  fed  our  teams  we 
went  back  to  town  to  find  out  the  truth  of  the  matter.  The 
citizens  opened  the  grave  and  found  the  body  missing.     Two 

doctors,  E.  W.  Pierson  and  G.  Singer,  with  Sampsel 

as  accessory,  had  hired  two  men  by  the  names  of  James 

Moore  and Wallace  to  dig  up  the  body  and  bring  it 

to  their  buggy.  The  body  was  found  while  we  were  in  town. 
I  never  in  my  life  felt  so  much  like  putting  mob  law  in  force 
as  I  did  when  I  saw  the  body.  It  caused  considerable  excite- 
ment among  the  Californians  as  well  as  the  citizens  and  there 


ACROSS   THE   PLAINS   IN   1850  453 

was  a  crowd  around  all  day.  The  two  men  who  dug  up  the 
body  made  their  escape,  but  Dr.  Pierson  and  Singer  were 
taken  at  night  with  a  warrant,  but  were  released  under  bonds 
of  $1,000.  The  suit  was  just  called  as  we, left  there  on  the 
22nd. 

We  ferried  the  Des  Moines  at  Tuley's  [Tool's]  ferry  (or 
ford)  and  stayed  all  night  at  Belle  Fountain,  a  little  town  on 
the  south  side.  Here  we  got  com  for  75  cents  per  bushel.  The 
23rd  we  stayed  at  Wolf's  Run.  The  night  of  the  24th  we 
stayed  five  miles  from  any  house  in  a  pretty  place  and  killed  a 
large  wild  turkey.  On  the  25th  we  arrived  at  Chariton  Point 
where  we  got  hay  for  $1.00  per  hundred  and  corn  for  $1.50 
per  bushel.    This  place  is  40  miles  from  the  Des  Moines. 

Here  we  struck  the  old  Mormon  trail  and  from  this  on  had 
a  first  rate  road  with  the  exception  that  it  was  more  crooked 
than  the  Wapsipinicon.  The  28th  we  passed  through  Mount 
Pisgah,  a  settlement  of  Mormons  that  stopped  here  in  1846 
because  they  were  so  poor  they  could  not  get  any  farther. 
There  are  about  60  families.  All  that  are  able  are  going  on 
to  Salt  Lake  this  season.  This  settlement  is  about  60  miles 
from  any  other.  They  have  seen  hard  times  here.  They  have 
a  mill  on  Grand  river  which  runs  through  the  town,  but  they 
are  selling  out  as  fast  as  they  can  and  leaving  for  the  Land  of 
Promise.  This  place  is  125  miles  from  Council  Bluffs.  We 
bought  corn  here  for  25  cents  per  bushel.  This  corn  the  Mor- 
mons had  brought  from  the  Missouri,  a  three  days'  journey, 
expressly  to  sell  to  the  Californians. 

On  the  29th  we  started  for  the  Nishnabotna,  75  miles  from 
Mount  Pisgah,  with  (we  are  told)  only  one  settler  in  the  dis- 
tance. [We  find]  the  Mormons  settled  along  the  road  all  the 
way  where  there  is  timber;  but  this  is  scarce.  The  road  is 
very  crooked  in  consequence  of  proceeding  through  a  rough 
part  of  the  country  and  keeping  on  the  dividing  ridge  all  the 
way. 

We  arrived  on  the  Nishnabotna  May  3rd.  It  is  a  small  but 
very  pretty  stream  and  is  about  50  miles  from  St.  Francis. 
There  are  speckled  trout  in  this  stream,  and  the  prairies  are 


454  ANNALS   OF  IOWA 

very  large  all  through  here.  This  is  on  the  North  Fork,  the 
South  Fork  being  20  miles  distant.  There  is  an  old  Indian 
town  here  of  the  same  name  but  there  is  no  one  here  now  but 
about  nine  families  of  ]\Iormons.  It  is  a  very  pretty  country 
and,  I  think,  a  healthy  one. 

May  6th.  Today  we  got  within  5  miles  of  Trader's  Point 
(or  St.  Francis)  and  camped  in  the  timber.  We  stayed  in 
this  vicinity  until  the  16th. 

Letter  No.  1. 

St.  Francis,  Iowa,  May  7th,  A.  D.  1850. 
Dear  Brother: — 

We  started  from  Allen's  Grove  April  3rd.  (Here  follow 
extracts  from  his  journal  already  given.)  I  have  mentioned 
all  names  so  that  from  time  to  time  as  I  write  you  may  know 
who  I  mean  when  I  say  that  we  are  all  well.  &c.  I  shall  num- 
ber each  letter  so  that  you  will  know  if  any  miscarry.  I  should 
have  written  before,  but  after  we  had  got  far  enough  to  make 
it  interesting  there  was  no  post-office. 

We  camped  today  wdthin  5  miles  of  Trader's  Point,  and 
here  I  am  sitting  on  the  wagon  tongue  ^vriting  to  you.  There 
is  no  XowD.  nor  post-office  here  by  the  name  of  Council  Bluffs, 
but  that  name  is  applied  to  a  large  tract  of  country  here.  The 
only  post-office  near  here  is  the  Mormon  town,  Kanesville.  I 
forgot  to  tell  you  that  in  Tipton  I  traded  my  new^  thick  boots 
to  Heniy  Hart  for  a  pair  that  he  got  a  shoemaker  in  Illinois 
to  make  for  him.  He  had  worn  them  only  a  few  days.  They 
were  too  large  for  him  so  he  gave  me  an  even  trade,  and  g,  good 
trade  it  was  for  me.  I  also  traded  my  rifle  for  a  U.  S.  piece 
that  carries  a  ball  of  almost  half  an  ounce  weight.  It  is  a 
new  rifle  at  that. 

I  will  now  wait  until  I  find  out  when  we  start. 

]\ray  16th. 

Dickinson  arrived  the  9th  and  we  have  joined  a  company 

and  expect  to  cross  the  river  tomorrow.     On  this  date  we 

organized  a  company  to  be  called  the  *'Fear  Not."    William 

Clapp  is  our  Captain,  R.  S.  Dickinson,  Lieut.,  Thomas  W. 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS   IN   1850  455 

Hinchman,  Clerk.  I  have  not  room  for  the  By-Laws.  The 
Captain  was  through  last  spring  and  is  now  taking  his  family 
through.  We  have  a  good  many  families  in  our  company. 
I  think  it  will  be  very  doubtful  about  L.  D.  D.  writing  to 
Charles.  I  have  spoken  to  him  a  dozen  times,  but  we  have 
such  a  poor  chance  that  it  is  hard  to  get  at  it.  I  have  got  me 
a  good  revolver  in  my  belt  and  I  feel  perfectly  safe,  although 
some  difficulty  with  the  Indians  is  apprehended.  We  have 
seen  along  the  road  nine  dead  horses  and  one  dead  ox.  I 
have  neither  seen  nor  heard  anything  of  Scott  or  James.^  If 
they  are  not  short  of  money  I  lose  my  guess.  Flour  has  been 
$7  per  hundred  here  until  lately.  It  is  now  $5.  If  you  want 
to  know  how  I  feel  I  can  tell  you  that  I  would  hate  awfully 
to  be  back  there  working  for  $15  per  month.  I  have  been 
well  ever  since  I  started  and  weigh  179  pounds.  I  was  ex- 
posed to,  but  did  not  take  the  measles.  Smallpox  is  preva- 
lent here  but  the  vaccination  in  my  arm  worked  very  well. 
I  have  vaccinated  several.  The  grass  is  just  high  enough  tQ 
start  on  and  that  is  all.  It  is  very  dry  and  dusty  and  the 
grass  can  grow  only  in  the  sloughs. 

I  found  my  rifle  was  more  bother  than  profit  so  I  traded 
it  for  a  patent  lever  watch,  pronounced  by  good  judges 
to  be  worth  $25.  Kanesville  is  a  small  place  but  the  business 
done  here  would  astonish  you.  Just  at  this  time  five  or  six 
auctioneers  are  holding  sales,  and  property  sells  well.  A 
great  many  have  come  here  to  buy  their  outfits.  Some  sel] 
out  and  hire  their  passage  through,  and  some  back  out  because 
of  funds  running  out.  Love  to  all.  I  would  write  more  if  I 
had  room. 

Respects  of, 
LeRoy  Dutton.  Jerome  Button. 


^William  Scott,  and  James  B.  and  Abner  Alger  had  preceded  them  along 
this  route  but  a  week  or  two.  William  Scott's  wife,  Harriet  M.  Pearsall, 
was  a  daughter  of  the  Samuel  Pearsall  mentioned  in  the  Introduction.  At 
this  writing  (December,  1909)  Mr.  Scott  is  living,  at  an  advanced  age,  in 
Calamus,  Iowa,  and  of  all  those  mentioned  herein,  as  having  made  the 
journey  to  California,  it  is  believed  he  is  the  only  survivor.  A  sketch 
of  Mr.  Scott  appears  on  page  813,  "History  of  Clinton  County."  Jameg 
B.  and  Abner  Alger  were  sons  of  Oliver  Alger,  who  is  mentioned  in  the 
sketch  of  Rev.  Dewitt  C.  Curtis  on  page  809.  "History  of  Clinton  County," 
as  being  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  Olive  township.  Abner  Alger  enlisted 
in  Company  A,  of  the  Eighth  Iowa  Infantry,  Aug.  12,  1861.  He  was 
captured  at  the  battle   of  Shiloh  and   died   in   St.   Louis   during  the  war. 


456  ANNALS  OF  IOWA 

Journal. 

We  drove  (May  16th)  within  four  miles  of  the  ferry  and 
laid  over  until  the  18th.  We  number  22  wagons,  57  men,  6 
women,  9  children,  10  horses  and  157  head  of  cattle.  This  is 
rather  a  larger  company  than  common.  We  crossed  the  Mis- 
souri at  the  old  ^lormon  ferry,  which  is  distant  12  miles  from 
Kanesville.    Therefore  we  did  not  cross  until  the  18th. 

There  was  a  willow  shade  on  the  bank  at  the  ferry  beneath 
which  a  seller  of  ''hot  stuff"  had  set  up  shop.  As  this  was 
the  last  chance,  some  of  our  boys  soon  felt  finely.  Several 
companies  were  on  the  bank  w^aiting  for  their  turn  to  cross, 
and  as  the  last  load  (I  w^as  on  board)  of  our  company  shoved 
off  from  shore  some  one  on  the  bank  proposed  three  cheers  for 
the  departing  company,  and  there  went  up  three  deafening 
''Hurrahs." 

There  are  a  few^  log  houses  here  at  the  river  where  the  ]\Ior- 
mons  wintered  one  season  in  the  Nebraska  or  Indian  Territory 
and  it  goes  by  the  name  of" Winter  Quarters."  I  mention  this 
for  the  reason  that  the  distances  on  this  road  are  all  measured 
from  that  point.  The  Mormons  measured  the  distance  from 
there  to  the  Salt  Lake  by  means  of  a  "Roadometre"  and 
therefore  all  the  crooks  and  turns  in  the  road  are  measured 
and  this  is  one  reason  w^hy  it  is  so  far.  We  drove  6  miles 
from  Winter  Quarters  and  stopped  until  morning. 

On  Sunday,  the  19th,  w^e  drove  to  the  Elkhorn  and  ferried 
and  corraled  around  the  Liberty  Pole  put  up  by  the  Mormons 
some  years  ago.  We  make  a  corral  in  this  way :  At  night  we 
form  our  wagons  in  a  circle  and  put  the  tongue  of  each  wagon 
up  on  the  hind  end  of  the  wagon  in  front  of  it.  A  chain  is  run 
from  the  hind  end  board  of  one  to  the  fore  end  of  the  next 
wagon.  We  leave  a  place  large  enough  to  drive  in  the  cattle 
and  in  this  way  we  yard  them.  Then  we  stretch  a  rope  across 
the  entrance,  and  the  corral  is  finished.  In  this  way  we  often 
get  along  with  only  three  watchmen.  It  is  necessary  to  keep 
guard  all  the  time,  and  when  we  herd  the  cattle  it  generally 
takes  five  men. 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS   IN   1850  457 

We  turn  the  cattle  out  at  half  past  3  in  the  morning  and 
keep  with  them  night  and  day.  We  passed  a  company  that 
had  lost  55  head  of  cattle  by  leaving  them  just  before  day- 
light. We  passed  them  in  the  evening,  and  although  they  had 
been  looking  for  their  cattle  all  day  thej  had  not  found  them. 
The  cattle  had  taken  fright  at  something  and  ran  aAvay  all  in 
one  direction  and  got  such  a  start  that  their  owners  could  not 
overtake  them. 

The  country  from  here  on  is  as  level  as  any  land  I  ever 
saw.  This  is  the  Platte  bottoms;  very  low  but  the  road  was 
good. 

We  followed  up  tlie  Platte  without  any  trouble  until  we 
came  to  Looking  Glass  creek,  a  stream  that  enters  into  the 
Loup  fork.  But  on  the  night  of  the  19th  and  again  the 
evening  of  the  22nd  we  had  very  heavy  thunder  showers  and 
consequently  when  we  arrived  at  the  creek  on  the  23rd  we 
found  it  very  much  swollen  and  the  bridge  gone.  We  there- 
fore had  to  stop  and  corral  at  12  o'clock  and  proceed  to  build 
a  bridge  52  feet  long.  We  had  it  ready  to  cross  on  the  next 
morning,  having  plenty  of  help  from  other  companies  in  the 
same  fix.  There  were  many  Pawnees  along  the  road  from  the 
Elkhorn  to  this  stream,  and  great  beggars  they  are,  too. 

After  crossing  this  stream  we  went  about  8  miles  and 
formed  a  corral  on  the  bank  of  Beaver  river.  Here  we  were 
again  water  bound,  and  built,  not  a  wire  but  a  brush  suspen- 
sion bridge.  There  was  some  flood  trash  collected  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  stream  and  using  this  for  a  pier  we  felled  some 
willows  onto  it  from  each  shore.  We  then  cut  brush  and  laid 
across  the  willows  thick  enough  so  that  we  could  haul  our  wag- 
ons over  by  hand.  Our  cattle  we  swam  over  to  the  west  bank 
where  we  remained  over  night.  There  were  six  other  com- 
panies corraled  there,  also,  and  in  all  there  were  304  men,  24 
women,  21  children,  920  head  of  cattle,  73  horses  and  154 
wagons. 

Sunday,  the  25th,  we  traveled  about  6  miles  and  forded  the 
Loup  fork  of  the  Platte  at  a  point  133  3-4  miles  from  Winter 
Quarters.  We  had  to  raise  our  wagon  boxes  8  inches  to  clear 
the  water  and  had  to  drive  very  crooked  and  keep  moving 


458  ANNALS  OF  IOWA 

to  prevent  our  wagons  from  sinking  in  the  quick  sand.  Sev- 
eral Avagons  belonging  to  other  companies  were  stalled  and 
nearly  upset  in  consequence  of  the  sand  washing  out  from 
under  one  side  faster  than  the  other.  But  the  wagons  were 
quickly  got  out;  otherwise  they  would  have  soon  been  under 
the  water.  Their  drivers  did  not  follow  the  road  that  Capt. 
Clapp  had  staked  out.  They  thought  their  road  the  best, 
but  they  found  out  their  mistake.  We  have  a  first  rate  captain. 
The  Mormons  claim  him,  but  I  guess  he  is  not  much  of  a  Mor- 
mon. AYilliam  Davison  crossed  right  after  us  and  passed  us 
here. 

Wild  onions  were  plenty  from  the  Elkhorn  here,  growing 
in  some  places  as  thick  as  they  could  stand.  The  country  from 
Winter  Quarters  here  is  almost  destitute  of  timber.  There 
are  some  willows  and  cottonwoods  (although  but  few)  along 
the  creeks  and  the  Platte.  Such  of  these  trees  as  there  are 
along  the  Platte,  or  Loup  fork  are  mostly  on  the  islands.  It 
is  a  very  flat  country,  but  pretty  prairie. 

We  came  past  some  old  Pawnee  villages  that  were  destroyed 
by  the  Sioux  in  the  fall  of  1846.-  Their  main  town  covered 
about  20  acres  and  was  walled  in  Avith  a  turf  wall.  But  the 
Sioux  had  taken  them  by  surprise  in  the  night  and  burned 
their  town  and  massacred  a  great  many  of  its  inhabitants. 
Their  bones  lay  about  in  every  direction,  and  there  were  also 
a  great  many  buffalo  skulls  that  look  as  if  the  buffaloes  were 
killed  about  the  same  time  as  the  Indians.  I  suppose  the 
Pawnees  had  trespassed  upon  the  Sioux  hunting  grounds,  and 
that  is  what  the  fuss  originated  from. 

The  Chief  of  the  Pawnees  came  out  to  the  road  to  see  us. 
He  was  the  best  looking  Indian  of  his  tribe.  He  had  on  a 
silver  medal  on  one  side  of  which  was  inscribed  '*  Peace  & 
Friendship"  showing  also  a  tomahawk  and  pipe  and  two 
hands  firmly  clasped. 

On  the  other  side  was  a  head  of  James  Madison  with  an  in- 
scription reading  "A.  D.  1803.''  He  was  a  young  man  and 
this  medal  has  doubtless  been  handed  down  from  chief  to  chief. 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  IN   1850  459 

Close  by;  their  town  that  was  destroyed  was  a  large  piece 
of  breaking  that  I  suppose  was  done  for  them  by  the  Govern- 
ment when  they  were  moved  there.  I  saw  an  old  Peacock 
plough  near.  But  their  ground  is  now  deserted  and  they 
now  live  farther  down  the  river  and  on  the  opposite  side. 

May  28th :  This  day  we  saw  the  first  prairie  dog  city.  They 
are  much  smaller  than  1  expected,  being  about  the  size  of  a 
large  grey  prairie  ground  squirrel.  In  color  they  are  between 
a  gopher  and  a  prairie  grey  squirrel.  They  resemble  a  dog  but 
very  little.  They  keep  up  an  awful  barking  as  you  approach 
them  but  never  bark  until  they  are  right  over  their  holes 
ready  to  dive  in.  When  barking  their  motion  is  something 
like  a  small  dog,  but  their  bark  does  not  in  the  least  resemble 
the  bark  of  a  dog.  I  have  seen  a  tract  as  large  as  200  acres 
quite  thickly  covered  with  their  houses,  which  are,  in  fact, 
nothing  but  a  small  heap  of  dirt  with  a  hole  in  the  top.  There 
are  in  Texas,  I  am  told,  a  much  larger  kind  which  much  more 
resemble  the  dog. 

May  30th :  This  day  a  gentleman  was  kind  enough  to  offer 
me  the  use  of  his  horse  so  that  I  might  go  hunting.  His  offer 
was  most  thankfully  accepted.  I  started  in  the  morning  and 
was  gone  until  noon.  I  saw  plenty  of  antelope,  an  animal 
smaller  than  a  deer.  They  make  a  noise  similar  to  a  young 
cow,  and  are  generally  quite  tame.  Their  meat  is  excellent. 
I  caught  one  young  antelope.  After  petting  it  awhile  and 
wishing  that  it  was  at  my  home  back  in  Iowa  I  went  on  and 
left  it.  I  saw  many  gray  wolves,  but  no  buffalo  except  dead 
ones.  They  were  plenty.  Whether  they  died  from  starvation 
or  were  killed  by  the  Indians  I  do  not  know,  but  a  great  many 
of  them  had  never  been  skinned. 

Saw  plenty  of  prickly  pear  for  the  first  time.  They  re- 
semble a  large  leaf  on  the  ground.  They  are  covered  with 
stickers  about  half  an  inch  long.  There  [are]  some  that  look 
like  a  pineapple. 

May  31st :  This  day  we  drove  28  miles  and  passed  several 
other  companies  under  way.  At  night  we  made  use  of  buffalo 


460  ANNALS  OF  IOWA 

chips  for  the  first  time  to  cook  our  supper  with.  I  was  agree- 
ably disappointed  when  we  got  the  fire  started  and  found 
that  they  burned  so  much  better  than  I  expected.  It  is  not  a 
hard  matter  to  find  them,  for  they  are  plentiful. 

June  1st.  This  day  our  company  killed  its  first  buffalo,  a 
large  cow.  She  was  chased  in  from  the  bluffs  toward  -our 
train  and  several  of  us  started  out  with  our  rifles  to  meet 
her,  but  she  was  killed  by  her  pursuers  before  I  had  a  chance 
to  give  her  a  shot. 

June  2nd :  We  had  traveled  16  miles  today — which  was  al- 
together the  hottest  day  we  have  had  up  to  this  time — when 
the  CaptaiQ  rode  along  the  train  and  told  us  to  halt  and  get 
a  drink  of  water  at  a  good  spring  that  rose  a  few  rods  from 
the  road.  "We  stopped,  and  nearly  all  of  us  had  gathered  at 
the  spring,  when  a  pack  horse  came  running  past.  He  fright- 
ened and  started  the  hindmost  team  and  they  turned  out  to 
pass  the  next  team  ahead.  At  this  they,  too,  took  a  start  and 
so  on  until  every  team  in  the  train  was  off  in  a  perfect  stam- 
pede. This  made  a  scattering  at  the  spring,  ever>^  man  run- 
ning for  his  team.  John  White  was  run  over  by  another  team 
in  attempting  to  stop  his  own,  but  came  out  unhurt.  Powell 
was  run  over  and  seriously  seared,  but  not  much  hurt.  ]\Irs. 
Dickinson  was  also  run  over  by  four  yoke  of  cattle,  and  some- 
what bruised.  I  presume  the  wheels  did  not  strike  her,  al- 
though Dickinson  thinks  that  one  passed  over  her  ankle.  In 
consequence  of  the  bruises  she  is  not  able  to  walk.  She  got 
out  of  the  wagon  with  her  little  boy,  but  in  falling  she  fell 
over  him  and  he  escaped  unhurt.  The  stampede  was  a  grand 
as  well  as  an  awful  sight.  It  lacked  15  minutes  of  4  o'clock 
when  it  commenced.  The  cattle  were  very  tired  and  warm, 
and  so  were  we.  This  was  the  first  good  water  we  had  since 
crossing  the  Missouri,  a  distance  of  289  miles.  We  had  fre- 
quent thunder  showers  and  every  creek  was  black  with  the 
mud  washed  in  from  a  large  scope  of  country.  Many  a  drink 
of  water  did  I  take  that  I  would  not  have  washed  in  at  home. 
All  these  circumstances  together  render  the  Cold  Springs  a 
spot  that  will  long  be  remembered  by  the  most  of  us. 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS   IN   1850  461 

June  3rd :  This  Avas  a  day  of  hard  work.  We  laid  over  to 
wash  and  bake  in  preparation  for  crossing  a  200  mile  strip 
of  country  barren,,  with  the  exception  of  one  lone  tree,  of  a 
single  stick  of  timber.  We  took  some  wood  with  us  to  start 
the  fires,  but  buffalo  chips  are  the  principal  part  of  our  fuel, 
and  they  are  plentiful.  There  [are]  places  where  they  may  be 
gathered,  I  believe,  at  the  rate  of  ten  bushels  to  the  acre. 

AVhile  I  was  walking  around  here  I  came  across  a  buffalo 
skull,  and  I  measured  it  between  the  inside  corners  of  the 
eyes.  The  distance  was  13  1-2  inches.  The  animal  had  been 
killed  but  a  short  time.  Here  also  was  the  grave  of  a  man 
named  Gordon,  from  Dubuque  county,  Iowa.  He  died  the  first 
day  of  May. 

June  4th :  We  left  with  the  intention  of  going  to  Fort  Lar- 
amie before  laying  up.  Nothing  of  importance  transpired 
until  Sunday,  the  9th.  When  Lieut.  Dickinson  was  called  on 
watch  this  morning  he  refused  to  serve,  in  consequence  of  his 
wife  being  unable  to  help  herself.  Some  of  the  company 
found  fault  with  him  and  the  matter  was  brought  before  the 
company  at  12  o'clock.  The  decision  was  in  Dickinson's  favor. 
Some  other  difficulties  arose,  one  being  that  the  Captain  drove 
too  fast  to  suit  Dickinson  and  his  associates,  and  they  asked  the 
privilege  of  withdrawing  from  the  company.  On  the  morning 
of  the  10th  this  privilege  was  granted  by  a  vote  of  the  com- 
pany.^ We  arrived  at  Fort  Laramie  at  12  o'clock  June  13th 
and  laid  over  until  the  15th  to  recruit  our  teams  and  lighten 
up. 

Letter  No.  2. 

Fort  Laramie,  June  13th,  1850. 
Dear  Brother: — 

Our  company  had  not  got  together  when  I  wrote  my  last. 
[Here  follow  extracts  from  the  journal].  We  have  now  ar- 
rived at  Fort  Laramie  and  I  hasten  to  finish  this  letter  to 
you,  if  you  can  call  it  by  that  name.  We  (that  is,  Dickinson 
and  his  wagons  and  men)  left  the  Fear  Not  company  three 

^Those  who  here  separated  from  the  "Pear  Not"  company  were  R.  S. 
Dickinson,  wife  and  child,  Josiah  Hill,  Daniel  Carlisle,  L,  D.  Dutton, 
Jerome  Dutton,  and  one  other  who  cannot  be  identified. 


462  ANNALS  OF  IOWA 

days  before  gettiog  here  on  account  of  their  hard  driving  as 
well  as  some  other  bad  management.  We  have  kept  close  to 
them  so  far  by  getting  started  earlier  and  driving  later  than 
they.  If  that  company  keeps  on  the  way  they  have  driven 
so  far  one  half  of  their  cattle  will  give  out  before  they  get 
to  Salt  Lake.  The  feed  has  been  scarce  for  several  days  and 
heavy,  sandy  roads  and  hot  weather  make  it  hard  on  the  cattle 
and  no  mistake.  These  companies  seldom  keep  together  but 
a  very  short  time.  Our  two  wagons  are  alone  at  present,  but 
we  can  join  a  company  any  time  we  wish.  But  for  my  part 
I  prefer  going  by  ourselves.  We  can  get  along  much  better 
and  there  is  no  danger  of  Indians  for  we  are  close  to  some 
company  everj'  night.  I  would  think  by  the  number  of  teams 
on  the  south  side  of  the  river  that  when  we  all  get  together  i 
we  cannot  be  alone  any  of  the  way.  \ 

We  had  intended  to'  cross  the  PMte  here,  but  it  could  not 
be  forded  and  the  ferry  boat  was  sunk  the  other  day  by  some 
Californians  who  were  on  a  spree.  The  river  here  is  108  yards 
wide,  runs  very  swift  and  is  now  high.  There  have  been  seven 
men  drowned  here,  I  understand,  while  ferrying  themselves 
across  in  wagon  boxes,  etc. 

Today  I  came  across  the  grave  of  a  man  from  Van  Buren 
County,  Iowa,  who  was  killed  by  liis  brother-in-law.  There 
were  four  of  them  playing  cards  and  drinking  and  they  got 
into  a  quarrel  which  resulted  in  the  death  of  one.  The  man 
who  killed  him  is  at  the  Fort  and  is  not  expected  to  live.  He 
received  a  dangerous  wound  from  the  man  that  he  killed.  The 
balance  of  them  are  in  the  Fort  and  in  irons  and  Avill  be  taken 
back.    This  I  do  not  know  to  be  a  fact,  but  presume  it  is. 

Since  I  left  Winter  Quarters  I  have  seen  seven  dead  horses 
and  one  left  behind  because  it  had  accidentally  been  shot 
through  the  fore  leg,  cutting  all  the  sinews  and  rendering 
the  leg  useless.  Also  one  dead  ox  and  three  that  were  left 
because  they  were  unable  to  go  any  farther.  Tliere  are  plenty 
of  others  that  will  not  go  much  farther.  Lorenzo  and  I  drive 
the  Widow  Knight  cattle,  a  yoke  that  Ale  Dunn  got  of  Sny- 
der.^   They  stand  it  well,  but  I  see  plainly  that  we  have  got 

iSimon  Snyder,  of  Allen  Grove  township,  Scott  county. 


ACROSS  THE   PLAINS   IN   1850  463 

to  drive  slower.  If  we  get  through  with  one  half  of  our  cat- 
tle it  will  be  as  well  as  I  expect.  The  old  wagon  is  better  than 
when  we  started,  but  I  think  it  quite  likely  that  we  shall 
leave  it  before  long  and  put  the  teams  all  on  one  wagon. 
THere  are  plenty  of  good  wagons  burned  up  between  here 
and  Winter  Quarters,  and  good  wagons  that  men  offer  to  give 
away.  But  when  wood  is  scarce,  they  generally  burn  them. 
We  have  passed  first  rate  log  chains  laying  beside  the  road 
and  half  worn  clothing,  bed  clothing,  saws  and  a  great  many 
things  that  would  be  useful  any  place  but  this. 

We  came  here  from  Winter  Quarters  in  26  days.  We  laid 
up  just  about  two  days,  Avhich  leaves  24  days  that  we  drove 
to  get  to  Fort  Laramie.  The  distance  is  522  miles,  and  I  think 
that  is  stiff  driving  for  an  ox  team.  Lorenzo  has  just  come 
up  from  the  ferry  and  tells  me  that  he  saw  Davison,  so,  you 
see,  we  have  kept  up  with  the  horse  teams. 

The  distance  from  here  to  Salt  Lake  is  509  miles,  so,  you 
see,  we  are  more  than  half  way  there.  I  will  now  tell  you  the 
reason  that  letter  writers  so  seldom  mention  particulars.  It 
is  this :  They  are  so  busy  that  they  have  no  time  to  write  any- 
thing that  can  possibly  be  dispensed  with  and  write  at  all, 
and  any  man  that  writes  a  letter  on  this  road  deprives  himself 
of  rest  of  which  he  is  much  in  need.  We  generally  get  up 
about  2  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  seldom  get  to  bed  before 
9  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  vitien  we  ai^e  not  eating  or  yok- 
ing cattle  every  step  counts  one  for  California.  The  country 
from  the  Missouri  here  is  almost  destitute  of  timber  and  what 
we  would  call  brush  in  our  "country  is  timber  here,  and  nothing 
but  Cottonwood  and  willow  at  that.  So,  if  you  hear  anybody 
talking  about  a  railroad  to  the  Pacific,  tell  them  for  me  that 
they  are  crazy.  All  of  our  boys  are  well  except  **old 
Mr.  Hill."  He  has  been  grievously  afflicted,  has  had  the 
ague,  the  earache,  has  been  sick  at  the  stomach  and  at  present 
has  sore  eyes.  He  wants  me  to  write  to  Joseph  Alger  for  him, 
but  you  may  tell  Joe  that  it  is  not  Cy  's  fault  that  he  don 't  get 
a  letter.^ 


lA  characteristic  story  of  Josiah  Hill,  in  connection  with  the  lynching 
of  Bennet  Warren  (an  event  of  much  celebrity  in  western  Clinton  county 
in  1857),  is  given  on  page  442  "History  of  Clinton  County." 


464  ANNALS   OF  IOWA 

I  have  heard  nothincr  of  William  Scott  and  James  B.  Alger, 
I  want  you  should  write  immediately  after  receiving  this.  I 
want  to  know  how  you  and  Doc  Witter  get  along.^  If  he  or 
Dawson  had  heard  themselves  cursed  as  much  as  I  have  for 
sending  people  over  that  new  road  they  would  feel  very  much 
like  fighting.  I  want  that  you  should  take  out  all  the  letters 
that  come  for  me,  read  them,  answer  them  and  put  them  in 
my  box  so  that  I  can  see  them  when  I  get  home.  You  may 
think  that  is  a  great  ways  ahead,  but  I  feel  as  though  it  must 
not  be  such  a  great  while.  What  goes  the  hardest  with  me  is 
the  total  loss  of  the  company  of  young  ladies.  I  believe  if 
we  had  a  few  along  I  should  be  at  home. 

We  came  through  a  Sioux  village.  They  are  good  looking 
Indians,  and  there  was  one  young  woman,  a  chief's  daughter, 
that  was  really  good  looking.  She  had  her  cheeks  painted 
red  and  wore,  in  addition  to  a  red  blanket,  a  buckskin  dress 
flowered  off  with  beads.  The  Sioux  are  a  wealthy  tribe  and 
have  many  ponies. 

This  will  doubtless  be  the  last  letter  you  will  get  until  I 
get  through.  There  is  no  opportunity  to  send  letters,  as  the 
mail  leaves  Salt  Lake  only  twice  a  year,  and  therefore  it  will 
be  better  for  me  to  wait  until  I  get  there  before  I  writ«.  I 
presume  Lorenzo  will  not  write.  Give  my  love  to  all  and  tell 
Father  and  Charles  I  would  like  to  write  to  them  but  have 
not  time.  Tell  Cyrus''  he  mifct  write  me  at  Sacramento  City 
and  let  me  know  all  about  the  young  folks  in  Iowa.  Tell 
Rhoda  that  I  hope  to  meet  her  husband'  about  the  first  of 
September  and  remember  me  to  Aunt  and  George.*  Lorenzo 
says  to  tell  you  that  he  is  well  and  doing  the  best  he  can  to  get 
to  California,  and  that  when  he  arrives  there  he  will  write. 

I  was  the  cook  all  the  way  to  Council  Bluffs,  and  since  Mrs. 
Dickinson  was  hurt  I  have  done  nearly  all  the  cooking  for 
seven  adults  and  a  boy  about  3  years  old.  There  is  any  amount 
of  quarreling  on  this  road,  and  a  great  many  are  dividing  their 

^This  refers  to  Dr.  Amos  Witter,  subsequently  a  member  of  the  Fifth 
Greneral  Assembly  from  Scott  county. 

^yrus  A.  Pearsall,  brother  of  W^illiam  R.  Pearsall. 

•■'Wiilliam  R.  Pearsall. 

*Phoebe  Pearsall,  mother  of  W.  R,  and  C.  A.  Pearsall.  George  was  her 
youngest  son.     He  enlisted  and  was  killed  in  service  during  the  rebellion. 


ACROSS  THE   PLAINS  IN   1850  465 

teams,  and  many  a  person  have  I  seen  and  heard  say  that  if 
he  was  back  and  knew  what  he  knew  then  he  would  never  start 
for  California.  Among  this  latter  class  is  Dickinson  and  lady. 
That,  though,  is  what  no  one  has  heard  me  say. 

But  I  am  getting  tired  sitting  here  in  the  wagon  with  a 
board  on  my  lap.  Yet  I  can  scarcely  stop.  I  see  several 
words  badly  spelled,  but  will  not  bother  myself  to  rectify  the 
errors.    So,  no  more  at  present. 

Respects  of  your  brother, 
LeRoy  Dutton,  Esq.  Jerome  Button. 

Journal. 

June  15th:  AVe  left  Fort  Laramie  this  morning  and  fol- 
lowed up  the  north  side  of  the  river  to  cross  the  Black  Hills. 
This  road  has  been  traveled  but  very  little  until  now,  but  as 
the  ferry  boat  was  gone  we  either  had  to  go  up  on  this  side 
or  ferry  ourselves  on  a  float,  and  no  timber  to  build  it  of. 
We  therefore  concluded  to  keep  up  the  north  side,  and  as 
there  have  been  but  few  trains  up  on  this  side  the  feed  was 
good  until  we  got  up  to  where  the  teams  from  the  other  side 
commenced  crossing.  The  upper  Platte  ferry  is  126  miles 
from  Fort  Laramie.  The  game,  antelope  and  mountain  sheep, 
was  plent5^ 

About  15  miles  from  Fort  Laramie  we  came  to  a  pretty 
spring  that  emerged  at  the  foot  of  a  bluff,  and  after  flowing 
about  eight  feet,  lost  itself  in  the  sand.  This  was  a  romantic 
looking  place.  There  were  numerous  dry  creeks,  some  of  them 
as  much  as  20  rods  wide,  and  they  looked  as  though  they  w^ere 
large  rivers  in  the  spring  of  the  year.  I  think  there  must 
be  very  heavy  rains  here  by  the  appearance  of  the  bluffs  and 
dry  creeks. 

June  23rd :  This  day  we  got  to  Independence  Rock  on  the 
Sweetwater,  and  laid  by  one  and  a  half  days.  We  drove  our 
cattle  1  to  2  miles  from  the  road  and  found  just  feed  enough 
to  keep  them  alive.  This  Rock  is  698  1-4  miles  from  Winter 
Quarters,  and  is  something  of  a  curiosity.  It  is  600  yards 
long  and  120  wide,  and  is  composed  of  hard  granite.    By  dint 


466  ANNALS  OF  IOWA 

of  good  management  I  got  time  to  ascend  this  rock  and  look 
at  the  surrounding  country.  Back  east  in  the  direction  Ave 
came  from  can  be  seen  the  Atlantic  spring,  its  edges  white* 
with  saleratus,  and  to  the  south-west  can  be  seen  mountains* 
with  here  and  there  a  patch  of  snow.  The  beautiful  Sweet- 
water can  be  seen  here  to  advantage,  winding  its  serpentine 
course  in  a  south-easterly  direction  to  the  Platte,  into  which 
it  empties.  How  appropriate,  after  traveling  700  miles  up 
the  Platte  (the  waters  of  which  resemble  the  Missouri)  and 
then  coming  on  to  this  beautiful  mountain  stream,  how  ap- 
propriate, I  say,  that  it  should  be  called  ''Sweetwater."  At 
the  west  could  be  seen  the  Devil's  Gate,  5  miles  distant  (but 
it  did  not  look  to  be  a  mile) .,  This  is  a  place  where  the  Sweet- 
water passes  through  rocks  400  feet  high,  and  as  you  stand  at 
the  edge  of  the  stream  on  the  south  side  you  can  see  the  rock 
at  the  top  projecting  over  your  head,  and  it  looks  as  though 
you  could  almost  jump  across  from  one  side  to  the  other.  -I 
attempted  to  go  through  from  the  lower  side  of  the  gate  to  the 
upper,  but  found  I  could  not  get  through  the  Devil's  Gate  as 
easily  as  I  expected,  as  the  only  chance  to  pass  through  was 
to  wade,  or  perhaps  swim,  and  I  decided  to  back  out  and  not 
go  through  his  gate  until  some  future  period.  AVhat  is  re- 
markable about  these  rocks  is  that  they  are  placed  in  solid 
heaps  and  the  country  around  them  is  sandy  and  without  a 
stone. 

We  traveled  up  the  Sweetwater  100  miles  and  crossed  it 
five  times.  The  28th  we  crossed  it  twice  in  order  to  avoid 
clambering  over  the  rocks  where  thej^  came  up  close  to  the 
river.  At  the  lower  ford  the  water  was  so  deep  that  it  rose 
into  the  wagon  boxes.  So  we  had  to  carry  some  of  our  things 
up  over  the  rocks  to  the  second  crossing  to  prevent  them  from 
getting  wet.  The  balance  we  put  on  deck,  and  in  this  way 
we  got  across  with  little  trouble. 

July  1st:  This  day  we  passed  Pacific  Spring  (the  first 
water  that  runs  into  the  Pacific)  and  crossed  a  desert  19  miles 
without  water.  The  first  was  the  Little  Sandy,  about  4  miles 
west  of  the  junction  of  the  Salt  Lake  road  with  the  Oregon 


ACROSS  THE   PLAINS   IN   1850  467 

Trail   (which  is  generally  called  Subblett's  Cut-Off).     Here 
we  camped  one  night. 

July  2nd :  We  traveled  forward  12  miles  to  the  Big  Sandy 
and  laid  over  until  5  o'clock  on  the  3rd.  We  then  started 
and  drove  all  night  and  until  4  o'clock  of  the  4tli  to  cross  a 
desert  50  miles  wade,  which  brought  us  to  the  ferry  on  Green 
river.  Here  there  was  a  great  many  teams  on  either  side.  We 
got  across  at  6  o'clock  by  swimming  our  cattle  and  paying  $7 
for  ferrying  our  wagon.  We  left  our  cart  here.  There  were 
several  flags  flying  and  a  great  many  guns  were  fired  in  honoi' 
of  the  day.  I  heard  some  good  fiddling  and  thought  several 
times  of  sweet  home  and  the  merry  ones  that,  no  doubt,  at 
that  time  were  ''patting  it  down"  to  some  old  favorite  air. 
Here  Ave  began  to  see  a  great  many  sick,  and  there  was  one 
death  that  night.  The  thermometer  in  the  morning  was  4 
degrees  below  freezing,  and  at  12  o  'clock  it  was  up  to  95  in  the 
shade.  While  we  were  here  Daniel  Solis,  John  Turner  and 
Ainsworth  came  up  and  went  on,  and  that  is  the  last  we  have 
seen  or  heard  of  them.  They  were  well.  We  laid  over  here  the 
5th. 

We  left  on  the  6th,  drove  12  miles  and  camped  on  a  small 
branch  of  Green  river.  A  man  had  been  buried  there  that  day, 
and  there  were  two  other  graves  that  had  been  made  but  a 
short  time. 

July  7th:  We  traveled  15  miles  today  over  a  sandy  and 
dusty  road."  We  stopped  at  noon  and  took  our  dinner  on  top 
of  a  hill  where  there  was  nothing  but  wild  sage,  and  dust 
three  inches  deep.  We  accidentally  spilled  some  vinegar  on 
the  dust,  and  it  foamed  up  like  so  much  saleratas.  And  this 
is  what  is  blowing  into  your  face  day  after  day  (and  some 
nights)  as  regular  as  the  day  comes.  At  night  we  camped 
in  a  very  pretty  place.  Plenty  of  snow  close  by  us.  A  fun- 
eral ceremony  was  just  concluded  as  we  arrived  there. 

July  8th:  This  day  we  traveled  over  some  very  steep 
mountains  and  camped  over  night  at  Hams  Fork.  Here  the 
forage  began  to  be  more  plenty  and  we  came  upon  the  first 
good  grass  we  had  found  from  a  point  25  miles  below  the  upper 


468  ANNALS  OF  IOWA 

Platte  ferry  without  leaving  the  road  from  1  to  5  miles. 
There  were  some  half-breed  Indians  here  with  some  very- 
fine  horses.  We  tried  to  buy  one,  but  their  lowest  price 
was  $100  for  a  horse  that  had  been  broken  to  ride. 

July  9th:  We  arrived  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain  and  in 
sight  of  Bear  river  after  traveling  a  rough  and  rocky  road 
over  some  very  steep  hills. 

July  10th:  Today  we  overtook  a  company  from  Missouri, 
under  Captain  John  E.  Develby,  with  which  we  had  traveled 
several  days  in  Iowa.  I  had  formed  an  attachment  for  some 
of  them,  and  when  we  came  up  they  were  yet  gathered  around 
the  grave  of  a  companion  whom  they  had  just  buried.  He 
was  sick  but  six  hours  with  what  is  supposed  to  be  the  cholera. 
Directly  after  leaving  them  we  came  to  four  rushing,  creeks 
that  all  ran  down  between  the  points  of  two  mountains  that 
were  not  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  apart.  The  creeks 
were  all  deep  and  difficult  to  cross.  After  crossing  the  last 
we  had  to  turn  and  go  down  it  close  to  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain, and  over  large,  rough  rocks  that  would  jar  a  wagon  to 
pieces  unless  it  was  well  put  together.  There  are  plenty  of 
dead  cattle  around,  and  the  smell  is  strong  enough  to  almost 
take  your  breath  away.  We  also  passed  four  new  made  graves 
today,  and  at  night  camped  beside  a  beautiful  little  spring 
creek  that  ran  down  from  the  mountains  over  riffles  close  by 
our  tent  and  made  sweet  music  for  us  to  sleep  by. 

The  10th,  11th  and  12th  we  continued  to  keep  down  the 
Bear  river  with  very  good  roads,  as  a  general  thing,  and 
grass  enough  for  the  whole  emigration. 

July  13th:  Today  we  came  to  the  Soda,  or  Copperas 
springs.  The  first  two  were  on  the  bank  of  a  creek  close  to 
the  river.  The  water  gurgles  up  with  a  snapping  noise  and 
the  first  taste  resembles  soda,  but  the  after  taste  is  more  like 
iron  and  very  disagreeable.  A  little  lower  down  and  directly 
on  the  bank  of  the  river  is  what  is  called  the  Steamboat  spring. 
Through  a  hole  in  the  rock  about  18  inches  in  circumference 
it  gushes  up  to  a  height,  sometimes,  of  two  feet.     It  makes 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  IN   1850  469 

considerable  noise  and  foams  something  like  soda.  Like  the 
other  springs,  it  is  of  very  unpleasant  taste  and  smell.     , 

"We  arrived  today  at  a  point  where  the  road  forks.  One 
fork,  the  Oregon  road,  goes  past  Fort  Hall ;  the  other,  Hedge- 
peth's  Cut-Off,  is  the  road  we  took. 

We  left  Bear  river  about  2  o'clock,  and  as  we  had  to  go 
about  15  miles  with  no  water  along  the  road  we  took  in 
enough  to  last  us  until  9  o'clock  the  next  day.  We  drove 
about  8  miles  and  stopped  over  night.  Although  there  was 
plenty  of  good  grass  there  was  nothing  to  make  a  fire  with. 
Therefore  we  had  to  eat  a  cold  lunch  for  supper  and  go  on 
,in  the  morning  before  breakfast,  which  made  it  11  o'clock 
when  we  ate.  It  being  Sunday  (July  14th)  we  laid  over  the 
balance  of  the  day.  There  were  some  half-breed  Indians  here 
who  had  established  themselves  to  trade  with  the  emigrants 
and  buy  up  broken  down  cattle  at  small  prices. 

We  resumed  our  journey  on  the  15th  and  passed  four  graves 
all  made  this  month.  Above  one  of  them  was  a  headboard 
with  the  man's  name  on  it,  below  which  was  written  a  mes- 
sage requesting  that  if  his  friends  saw  it  they  would  please 
inform  his  family,  as  his  company  had  gone  on  and  left  him 
there  while  yet  alive.  His  name  was  Dennis,  and  he  was 
from  St.  Louis.  Another  was  the  grave  of  a  man  named  W. 
H.  Williams.  He  had  been  shot  by  another  member  of  his 
company  by  the  name  of  Hunter,  and  died  a  few  hours  later. 

July  16th:  We  traveled  until  noon  today  and  then  laid  by 
in  consequence  of  sickness.  Josiah  Hill  and  Mrs.  Dickinson 
were  taken  sick.  Hill  got  better  and  was  able  to  go  on,  but 
Mrs.  D.  was  too  sick  for  us  to  proceed. 

July  18th:  Today  we  resumed  our  journey  and  traveled 
most  of  the  day  through  deep  ravines,  a  little  ascending  until 
about  6  o'clock.  Then  we  came  to  where  we  descended  into 
a  valley.  The  descent  was  lengthy,  steep  and  dangerous.  Here 
we  had  a  strip  of  country  15  miles  without  water.  We  had  to 
leave  the  road  three-quarters  of  a  mile  to  the  left.  This 
[road?]  was  discovered  this  year  and  formerly  it  was  20  miles 
[to  water.]     The  last  water  was  a  big  spring,  and  there  were 


470  ANNALS  OF   IOWA 

two  tracks,  one  leading  to  the  right,  and  the  other  crossing 
the  creek  a  half  mile  below  the  spring.  After  crossing  the 
road  bore  southwest  down  the  creek  at  a  short  distance  from 
it.     (This  is  what  is  generally  called  Hedgepeth's  Cut-Off.) 

July  19th:  This  day  we  traveled  until  10  o'clock  through 
ravines  down  a  creek  until  we  came  to  where  the  stream  sank 
in  the  sand.  From  here  it  was  12  miles  to  water.  After 
climbing  a  steep  bluff  (close  to  the  creek)  we  had  a  good 
road,  which  descended  gradually  until  we  arrived  at  water, 
three  creeks  close  together. 

July  22d:  We  crossed  Raft  river  near  its  head  where  it 
was  quite  a  small  creek.  After  crossing,  the  Fort  Hall  road 
came  into  ours.  In  the  forenoon  we  could  see  the  dust  arising 
from  the  Salt  Lake  road. 

July  23d :  We  came  to  the  Salt  Lake  road,  distant  between 
20  and  25  miles  from  Raft  river. 

July  24th:  We  passed  over  some  rough  road  and  stopped 
on  Goose  creek,  where  we  heard  that  Captain  Clapp's  Fear 
Not  company  were  5  miles  behind  us.  They  went  past  Salt 
Lake,  and  had  three  days  the  start  of  us. 

July  25th:  This  morning  we  resumed  our  journey  up 
Goose  creek,  and  before  leaving  it  followed  it  18  miles  from 
where  we  first  came  to  it.  Here  we  came  to  a  deep  ravine, 
with  a  rough  and  somewhat  crooked  road  for  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  at  the  entrance.  After  leaving  the  head  of  the  creek  it 
is  12  miles  to  water,  and  very  little  grass.  We  camped  four 
miles  from  the  last  mentioned  water. 

July  26th:  At  about  10  o'clock  this  morning  we  came  to 
the  Thousand  Spring  Yalley.  No  grass.  For  a  few  miles 
after  entering  this  valley  we  followed  down  it,  seeing  numer- 
ous springs,  or  wells  along  the  road.  They  are  from  three  to 
seven  feet  deep,  some  of  them  cold  and  good,  others  warm  and 
laden  with  alkali.    We  camped  at  the  lower  end  of  the  valley. 

July  27th :  Though  the  road  was  good  the  grass  was  poorer 
than  we  had  along  back.  We  left  two  big  springs  today  at  5 
o'clock,  and  had  to  cross  a  barren  district  of  9  miles  without 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS   IN    1850  471 

water.    The  Fear  Not  company  caught  up  with  us  today  and 
at  night  we  camped  close  together. 

July  28th:  We  drove  about  12  miles  and  found  the  road 
good,  with  the  exception  that  it  was  very  dusty  and  included 
some  short,  steep  pitches  that  we  had  to  go  down.  We  came 
to  several  of  the  natural  wells,  some  of  which  contain  fish. 
They  are  dangerous  in  consequence  of  careless  horses  and  cat- 
tle falling  into  them.  The  country  here  is  rolling,  the  ravines 
wide,  and  grass  good  in  the  valleys.  Fuel  is  scarce.  Some 
sage  and  grease  weed. 

29th:  Arrived  at  Mary's  or  Humbolt  river.  Grass  and 
road  good.  July  30th,  31st:  Kept  down  Mary's  river,  with 
good  grass  but  bad  and  unclean  water.  Road  good,  with 
the  exception  of  the  dust  which  is  from  one  to  four  inches 
deep.  Sloughs  are  plentiful  along  the  river  and  so  mirey 
that  in  some  places  it  bothers  us  to  get  our  cattle  on  the  best 
grass.     We  laid  up  this  afternoon. 

August  1st :  Forded  the  river  4  times  in  that  number  of 
miles.  First  three  deep ;  had  to  raise  our  wagon  boxes  4  to  8 
inches  to  keep  our  provisions  dry.  The  fords  were  good ;  keep 
well  down  the  middle  of  the  stream  in  all  of  them.  There  was 
a  road  that  kept  down  the  river  on  the  west  side,  but  it  was 
over  mountains  and  we  preferred  keeping  on  the  bottom,  as 
the  grass  was  good  and  road  much  better  than  on  the  west 
side.  We  passed  two  little  creeks  today  and  camped  on  the 
mountains.  No  grass  nor  water.  From  these  creeks  it  is  8 
miles  to  water  and  this,  I  think,  not  safe  to  depend  on.  It 
was  springs,  and  they  ran  but  a  short  distance  before  they 
sank  in  the  sand.  It  was  15  miles  from  the  creeks  to  the 
river  and  over  rough  road,  and  dusty. 

2d:  Crossed  the  river  again  and  came  down  on  the  east 
side.  Along  here  there  is  a  road  on  both  sides.  The  most 
of  the  emigration  came  the  east  *side.  Very  dusty  either 
side ;  barren  saleratus  land ;  nothing  but  greaseweed  and  wild 
sage.  Good  grass  close  to  the  river,  but  very  sloughy  and 
bad  getting  to  it.    Water  bad  and  getting  worse. 


472  ANNALS  OF  IOWA 

3d  and  4th:  About  the  same  all  day.  Left  an  ox  today. 
He  swam  the  river  where  there  was  no  ford  and  we  left  him 
there. 

5th:  Today  we  drove  until  12  o'clock,  and  then  joined  the 
Wapello  company,  Capt.  McDaniel  [or  McDaniels].  Nine 
wagons  in  the  company  when  we  joined.  They  were  from 
Iowa,  and  we  had  seen  them  all  along  the  road  from  the  Platte. 
They  went  by  Salt  Lake,  and  we  came  in  ahead  of  them.  The 
reason  we  joined  them  was  this:  The  Indians  were  trouble- 
some and  we  concluded  it  was  not  safe  to  leave  our  cattle 
unguarded,  and  it  was  too  hard  for  so  few  of  us  to  guard 
them.  "We  laid  by  until  4  o'clock  and  then  drove  until  10 
o'clock  at  night  over  a  very  rough  and  rocky  road;  some 
places  rocks  square  up  and  down  from  2  to  3  feet. 

6th,  7th,  8th  and  9th:  Still  continue  down  Mary's  river, 
on  the  south-east  side,  until  the  9th.  We  then  crossed  over 
by  ferrying  in  our  wagon  boxes  and  swimming  the  cattle. 
Grass  hard  to  be  got  at  because  of  the  many  sloughs.  We 
had  to  build  bridges  of  willow  brush  to  get  our  cattle  across 
them  onto  the  grass. 

10th,  11th  and  12th :  Travel  do^vn  Mary 's  river  with  grass 
very  scarce,  or,  in  fact,  what  you  may  call  none,  over  a  com- 
plete desert  with  this  exception :  We  occasionally  touched  the 
river  for  water.  We  traveled  considerably  nights.  Dusty 
road,  and  many  dry  ruts.  We  swam  our  cattle  across  the 
river  often  and  some  of  us  swim  over  after  them,  and  find 
nothing  but  willows  for  them  to  browse  on  at  that.  Great 
numbers  of  dead  cattle  and  horses  line  the  road  from  the 
crossing  place  to  the  Sink. 

August  13th:  We  arrived  at  the  place  for  making  hay 
this  morning.  Had  to  wade  in  the  water  and  mud  (from 
ankle  deep  to  2  feet),  cut  our  hay,  bind  it  up  some,  and 
"back"  it  out.  Others  ^raw  it  out  with  light  cattle  and 
wagons,  with  great  difficulty.  Grass  good,  but  the  ground 
is  so  mirey  that  it  is  a  miserable  place  to  recruit  cattle.  There 
was  a  trading  establishment  here,  kept  up  by  the  Mormons. 


ACROSS  THE   PLAINS  IN   1850  473 

They  sell  beef  at  from  15  to  20  cents  per  pound,  and  kill  cat- 
tle that  the  emigrants  leave.  Flour  is  $1.50  per  pound,  sugar 
$1.00  per  pound,  whiskey  50  cents  for  a  little  less  than  a  gill. 
They  would  not  let  you  drink  what  you  wanted  for  that. 
Water  bad  here.  By  wading  half  a  mile  you  can  get  as  good 
as  there  is  in  the  river.    The  wells  are  brackish. 

14th:  Laid  up  to  cure  our  hay  until  the  morning  of  the 
15th.  We  then  moved  on  down  past  the  Sink  and  camped  on 
the  south-east  of  the  slough.  Plenty  of  stock  water  here,  but 
none  fit  for  other  use. 

16th:  We  started  at  three  o'clock  this  morning  to  cross 
the  desert,  40  miles  without  wood,  water  or  grass.  The  road 
was  good  for  the  first  25  miles.  Here  the  road  commenced  be- 
ing very  heavy  and  sandy.  There  was  plenty  of  water  to  be 
had  at  the  commencement  of  the  sandy  road  for  $1.00  per  gal- 
lon. This  water  they  haul  15  miles  from  Carson  river;  this 
is  the  first  water  after  crossing  the  desert.  There  were  sights 
to  be  seen  in  crossing  this  desert.  After  the  first  5  miles  you 
could  not  get  out  of  sight  of  dead  cattle  or  horses.  Any  num- 
ber of  wagons.  At  one  spot  I  could  stand  and  count  25  in 
sight.  Two-thirds  of  the  emigrants  had  to  leave  their  wagons 
and  plunder  on  the  last  part  of  this  desert  and  drive  their  cat- 
tle on  and  grass  them  and  then  go  back  for  their  wagons. 
One-half  of  our  company  had  this  to  do ;  the  other  got  through 
at  daylight  the  morning  of  the  17th.  We  were  among  the 
forward  teams. 

There  was-  a  large  Rag  Town  on  the  river  where  we  first 
ipame  to  it  and  several  victualing  tents.  Their  prices  were 
high,  viz.,  10  cents  per  pint  for  coffee,  if  with  sugar,  15  cents; 
25  cents  per  pint  for  rice  soup,  50  cents  for  a  sour  pie  about 
the  size  of  your  hand,  25  cents  for  a  small  biscuit,  50  cents 
a  dram  for  whiskey,  75  cents  ditto  for  brandy,  beef,  good  for 
50  cents  per  pound,  flour  $1.25  per  pound.  There  was  no 
grass  nearer  than  6  miles  from  here,  but  you  could  get  hay 
for  25  cents  per  bundle  that  could  be  spanned  with  both  hands. 
It  would  take  a  dozen  of  them  to  make  a  feed  for  a  yoke  of 
cattle.  We  drove  6  miles  up  Carson's  river  today  and  laid  by 
on  the  18th. 


474  ANNAlLS  OF  IOWA 

The  19th  we  again  set  out  up  the  river,  the  road  sandy  and 
in  many  places  rough  and  rocky.    Grass  tolerably  good. 

20th,  21st,  22d  and  until  2  o'clock  the  23d  we  traveled  up 
Carson  river.  Trading  posts  plenty  for  the  last  60  miles. 
They  all  ask  about  the  same  prices  as  the  one  where  we  first 
touched  the  river.  Passed  Warm  Springs  on  the  23d;  the 
water  so  warm  that  you  could  hold  your  hand  in  it  but  for 
a  short  time.  We  arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  Kanyon  at  2 
o'clock  the  24th  and  laid  by  until  morning.  The  25th  we 
drove  through  the  Kanyon,^  a  distance  of  6  miles  over  as 
rough  and  rocky  a  road  as  a  wagon  could  pass  over.  We,  how- 
ever, got  along  very  well.  Upset  only  once,  and  that  did  no 
particular  damage.  A  branch  of  the  Carson  river  ran  through 
the  Canyon.  There  were  mountains  on  either  side,  the  tops 
of  which  nearly  touched  the  clouds.  There  was  some  good 
(pine)  timber  here,  the  first  we  saw  that  you  could  call  tim- 
ber after  leaving  Winter  Quarters. 

26th:  We  left  the  head  of  the  canyon  this  morning,  and 
crossed  the  first  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  mountains.  At  the  foot 
of  this  mountain  was  an  iron  safe  that  some  emigrant  had 
started  with,  but  when  he  got  here  and  looked  up  this  moun- 
tain I  expect  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  had  hauled  it 
far  enough,  and  I  think  it  a  wise  conclusion.  The  ascent  was 
steep,  rockj'  and  about  %  of  a  mile  in  length.  There  were 
four  dead  horses  in  this  distance,  and  we  traveled  only  6  miles 
this  day. 

27th:  We  crossed  the  second  mountain,  or  summit  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada.  The  road  was  such  as  would  be  considered  im- 
passable by  anybody  but  a  Californian — rough,  rocky  and 
steep,  and  in  addition  to  this  there  was  snow  that  we  had  to 
go  over  for  half  a  mile.  The  snow  just  at  the  right  of  the 
road  was  from  10  to  20  feet  deep.  It  was  two  miles  from  the 
foot  of  the  mountain  to  the  summit;  very  steep  in  places. 
When  we  were  on  the  summit  we  could  look  down  and  see 
plenty  of  snow  100  feet  below  us.  There  was  plenty  of  the 
best  water  I  ever  drank. 

^An  asterisk  here  refers  to  a  note  written  on  a  fly  leaf  of  the  joumaL 
This  note  reads:  "Canon,  This  is  a  Spanish  word,  pronounced  Kanyon." 


ACROSS  THE   PLAINS   IN   1850  475 

28th,  29th  &  30th:  Traveled  these  days  over  rough  road 
and  on  a  dividing  ridge.  Water  scarce  and  grass  more  so,  and 
dust  ankle  deep.    Trading  posts  are  plenty. 

31st:  No  feed  tod^.  We  had  to  cut  down  oak  trees  for 
our  cattle  to  browse  on. 

September  1st :  Today  we  arrived  at  Weaver,  the  first  town 
that  we  came  to  in  California.  Here  we  stopped  and  bought 
tools  and. went  to  mining  on  Methenis  creek,  4  miles  south  of 
Weaver.  (Here  we  came  across  James  and  Abner  Alger.)  Our 
tools  cost  us  $35.  We  mined  here  but  a  few  days.  Lorenzo 
started  off  to  look  for  a  better  place  and  went  to  the  Mormon 
Island,  and  here  he  found  William  R.  Pearsall,  mining.  He 
stayed  part  of  a  day  with  him  and  then  came  back  to  the 
creek  and  we  sold  everything  except  what  we  could  carry  and 
moved  to  the  Island  where  we  arrived  on  the  11th  at  12 
0  'clock. 

[End  of  the  Journal.] 

Letter  No.  3  is  missing.    Letter  No.  4  follows: 
Mormon  Island,  California,  Sept.  the  27th,  A.  D.  1850. 

[This  letter  opens  with  extracts  from  the  journal  from  the 
entry  for  July  1st  to  July  14th.] 

Dear  Brother: — 

I  find  out  that  my  journal  will  occupy  too  much  space  to 
admit  of  my  writing  it  in  this  letter.  I  will  therefore  find 
out  what  the  postage  will  cost  me  and  if  not  too  much  I  will 
write  my  next  in  the  back  part  of  it  and  send  it  to  you.  We 
arrived  at  Weaver,  a  little  town  close  by  the  first  diggings, 
on  the  first  day  of  September.  Here  Dickinson  considered  his 
part  of  the  contract  fulfilled.  We  therefore  stopped  here, 
and  as  a  man  cannot  live  idle  in  California  we  bought  us  a 
full  set  of  mining  tools — that  is,  a  pick,  shovel,  pan,  blower, 
dipper  and  rocker,  for  which  we  paid  $35,  and  as  Hill  and 
Daniel  Carlisle  were  out  of  funds  and  wanted  to  go  in  with 
us,  we  all  started  together  for  Methenis  creek,  4  miles  south 
of  Weaver.  Judge  of  our  surprise  and  joy  when,  walking 
down  the  creek  and  passing  the  miners,  we  came  to  a  hole 


476  ANNALS  OP  IOWA 

and  found  James  Alger  sitting  on  the  bank  and  Abner  in  the 
hole — the  first  we  had  seen  or  heard  of  them  after  leaving 
home.  They  told  us  that  Scott  came  in  with  them,  but  started 
back  on  the  road  the  next  day  with  aiv)ther  man.  Whether 
he  was  going  to  prospecting  or  not  they  did  not  know.  I  have 
left  a  letter  for  him  at  Weaver,  but  have  not  heard  from  him 
yet.  I  guess  that  he  and  the  boys  did  not  agree  very  well. 
James  and  Abner  wanted  a  partner,  so  we  got  rid  of  Uncle 
Hill.  Carlisle  and  I  stayed  and  dug  and  Lorenzo  went  off  on 
a  scout  to  look  for  better  diggings.  He  went  to  Mormon 
Island,  and  there  he  found  William.  He  was  interested  in  a 
dam  across  the  south  fork  of  the  American  river.  He  told 
Lorenzo  if  we  would  come  down  he  would  buy  us  a  share  in 
the  dam.  Lorenzo  told  him  we  would  do  so,  and  came  back 
to  where  Daniel  and  I  were  at  work.  We  sold  all  of  our  duds 
except  what  we  could  carry  and  came  down  here. 

We  arrived  here  on  the  11th.  William  had  bought  the  share 
for  $700,  and  let  us  have  it  at  the  same.  There  are  10  shares 
in  the  dam.  It  therefore  takes  one  of  us  to  work  the  share 
and  the  other  works  for  the  company  at  $5  per  day  and  boards 
himself.  In  this  way  we  have  been  at  work  up  to  this  time. 
We  paid  $30  for  our  share  when  we  came  and  we  have  taken 
out  enough,  with  our  work  included,  to  pay  for  one-half  of 
our  share.  If  the  water  did  not  bother  so  much  we  could 
have  had  the  debt  paid  and  money  to  spare  now,  but  the 
water  has  been  so  high  that  we  have  not  been  able  to  Avork 
in  the  bed  of  the  river  but  a  few  days.  We  have  had  several 
rains  since  we  arrived  here.  Some  think  the  rainy  season  has 
already  commenced,  and  some  think  it  will  stay  off  until  the 
middle  of  November.  If  it  has  commenced  we  cannot  do  any- 
thing more  this  year.  If  it  stays  off  a  month  or  so  we  shall 
do  weU,  I  think,  without  a  doubt.  William  owns  1  3-4  shares 
in  the  dam.  He  thinks  we  will  have  a  month  or  two  of  good 
weather  yet,  and  from  appearances  it  bids  fair  at  present. 
Daniel  Carlisle  came  dow^n  here  and  worked  by  the  day  for 
the  company  until  the  river  raised.  They  did  not  want  him 
longer,  and  he  started  this  morning  for  Deep  Creek  dry  dig- 
gings, 65  miles  from  here.    If  you  get  an  opportunity  let  his 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  IN  1850  477 

wife  know  that  he  is  well.  He  is  a  fine  boy  and  I  wish  that 
he  was  at  home,  and  I  guess  if  he  had  the  money  he  would  go. 
William  will  come  home  this  fall  or  winter.  If  the  weather 
continues  good  for  a  month  or  two  I  am  in  hopes  that  I  will 
be  able  to  send  you  a  little  by  him.  The  gold  on  Methenis 
Creek  is  coarse ;  that  that  is  taken  out  of  the  river  here  is  fine. 
But  you  have  doubtless  seen  some  of  this,  as  William  sent  40 
ounces  to  his  wife  some  time  ago.  I  found  a  piece  on  Methen- 
is creek  that  was  worth  a  dollar. 

While  we  were  there  we  made  a  little  more  than  enough 
to  pay  our  way.  James,  Abner  and  Josiah  have  gone  to  Dry 
Creek,  about  30  miles  south  of  here.  Where  Dickinson  will 
stop  I  do  not  know.  His  family  was  in  Weaver  when  we  left, 
and  he  was  out  on  a  trip  to  find  a  place  where  something 
could  be  made  without  work.  He  is  as  lazy  a  man  as  is  now 
living.  There  was  not  a  person  that  came  through  with  him 
but  that  hates  him  now  above  ground.  Along  on  Hedgepeth's 
Cut-Off  he  got  an  opportunity  to  sell  some  flour  for  50  cents 
per  pound.  That  looked  so  large  to  him  that  he  sold  50  pounds 
and  thought  he  would  have  enough  to  last  through.  But  it 
gave  out  by  the  time  we  got  to  Carson  river,  and  flour  was 
$1.50  per  pound  here  (and  was  sold)  by  Calif ornians  that  had 
come  out  here  and  started  a  trading  post.  It  almost  killed  him 
to  pay  that,  and  he  would  have  been  glad  to  have  kept  us  on 
half  rations  if  we  would  have  submitted.  But  we  told  him  he 
could  have  his  choice ;  buy  us  food  or  we  would  leave  him  and 
buy  for  ourselves.  He  concluded  to  buy,  and  soon  run  out 
of  money  and  had  to  pawn  his  watch  for  the  last  we  got  at 
Leek  Springs.^ 

I  traded  my  watch  for  a  pony  on  the  road  and  in  a  few  days 
sold  the  pony  for  $30  in  cash,  so  Lorenzo  and  I  had  about  $5 
when  we  got  here..  Everything  is  high  here.  Flour  is  worth 
16  cents  per  pound,  onions  $1  per  pound,  potatoes  20  cents  per 
pound,  pork  25,  beef  from  25  to  40  cents,  green  corn  12  1-2 
per  ear.  You  can  get  most  anything  you  want  here  if  you 
have  plenty  of  money.    We  have  had  a  jar  of  preserves  for 

^The  ill  feeling  evinced  here  and  in  other  places  between  various  mem- 
bers of  the  party  was  only  temporary.  After  their  return  to  Iowa 
friendly   relations   were   soon    re-established. 


478  ANNALS  OF  IOWA 

which  we  paid  $3 — 2  quarts,  and  put  up  in  China — a  bottle  of 
pickles,  1  quart,  $1.25,  put  up  in  Philadelphia  and  composed 
of  cucumbers,  cabbage,  onions,  muskrnelon  and  small  ears  of 
corn,  etc. 

You  want  to  know  what  I  think  of  California,  no  doubt. 
I  am  not  sorry  I  came,  but  at  the  same  time  I  would  not  come 
again  in  the  same  way  for  a  clean  five  thousand.  There  is 
something  indescribable  about  the  journey  here — that,  I  am 
well  satisfied  is,  of  all  journeys,  the  most  tiresome — and  I 
would  say  to  you  all:  Stay  at  home  if  you  know  when  you 
are  well  off.  A  great  many  are  leaving  here  and  going  home 
without  trying  their  luck.  (Kirtley  is  at  Sacramento  City, 
and  is  going  in  a  short  time.')  Mining  here  is  a  perfect  lottery. 
Some  do  well,  but  many  work  hard  and  get  hardly  enough 
to  live  on,  and  the  miners  here  are  like  the  farmers  in  Iowa ; 
by  far  the  poorest  class  there  is  here.  The  man  that  has  money 
to  start  with  can  do  better*  at  anything  else  than  mining.  A 
tavern  does  well,  and  there  are  plenty  of  them.  A  grocery 
and  gambling  house  makes  money,  and  the  Justice  of  the  Peace 
in  this  town  sits  at  his  table  with  a  pile  of  money  before  him 
and  deals  Monte  for  the  bystanders  to  bet  on.  The  cattle 
buyers  are  another  class  that  makes  money.  Fat  cattle  sell 
from  $120  to  $200  per  yoke,  and  from  $50  to  $75  is  all  that 
an  emigrant  can  get  for  them  when  he  first  comes  in.  If  he 
puts  them  on  a  ranch  it  will  cost  $4  per  month  and  run  his 
own  risk  of  having  them  stolen,  and  that  is  something  of  a  risk 
in  this  country. 

We  got  through  with  four  yoke  of  cattle,  but  he  (Dickin- 
son) bought  one  on  Mary's  river.  The  black  steers  that  Sny- 
der used  to  own  stood  the  trip  well.  The  Widow  Knight's 
cattle  did  weU  until  we  got  about  half  way  through  Hedge- 
peth's  Cut-Off.  Here  the  near  one  took  sick,  and  we  had  to 
leave  him.  This  I  hated  to  do,  for  I  thought  more  of  him 
than  any  ox  in  the  team.  The  off  ox  was  very  near  worn  out, 
so  we  drove  him  loose  until  we  came  to  Clary's  river.  He  Avas 
very  dry  and  jumped  down  the  bank  and  swam  across,  and 

ij.  W.  Kirby,  the  man  referred  to,  is  mentioned  on  page  540,  "History 
of  Clinton  County,"  as  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  DeWitt  township, 
having  settled  there  in  1836. 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  IN   1850  479 

we  went  on  and  left  him  there.  The  near  ox  that  he  got  of 
Bennett  gave  out,  and  he  sold  him  for  $8  to  a  trader  on  Bear 
river,  and  this  was  all  the  cattle  (oxen)  he  lost.  But  his  cow 
gave  out  on  Green  river.  Cattle  can  stand  more  hardship 
than  I  thought,  for  there  were  several  days  that  I  did  not 
expect  anything  else  but  that  we  would  have  to  throw  our 
duds  away  and  foot  it  through.  But  as  good  luck  would  have 
it  we  got  through  with  all  our  clothes,  and  well. 

I  lost,  from  the  time  I  left  Kanesville  until  I  got  here,  20 
pounds.  William  is  well  and  is  decidedly  fat  and  weighs  165 
pounds.  The  company  that  left  Allen's  Grove  with  us  stayed 
in  Clapp's  company  and  went  past  Salt  Lake.  At  the  junc- 
tion of  the  Salt  Lake  road  they  had  three  days  the  start  of  us, 
but  we  were  about  seven  miles  ahead  of  them  tvhen  the  Salt- 
Lake  road  came  into  ours,  and  they  all  got  through  about  the 
same  time  that  we  did,  and  are  somewhere  about  Hangtown. 

A  newspaper  sells  for  one  dollar  here,  so  you  may  judge 
it  is  very  little  reading  I  do.  Hay  sells  for  15  cents  per 
pound ;  40  cents  per  pound  for  horse  feed.  There  is  a  good 
chance  for  cutting  hay  here  in  the  spring,  but  everything  is 
dead  and  dry  now. 

Now,  remember  this:  I  have  been  very  punctual  in  writ- 
ing to  you  but  I  have  sent  to  the  city  for  letters  but  cannot 
hear  anything  from  you — ^and  you  at  home  and  nothing  to 
do  but  write  Sunday.  Be  sure  and  w^rite  direct  to  Sacra- 
mento City.  The  reason  I  have  not  written  before  is  this: 
I  wanted  to  get  stationery,  and  after  I  got  here  there  was  no 
use,  for  the  mail  only  leaves  San  Francisco  the  1st  and  15th 
of  the  month,  and  I  was  not  here  in  time  to  send  this  month. 
Tell  Charles  and  Father  that  I  don't  know  as  Lorenzo  will 
ever  write  to  them.  I  have  been  trying  to  get  him  to  ever 
since  we  came,  but  cannot.  Give  my  respects  to  all  and  a  kiss 
to  Wilmet.i 

LeRoy  Dutton.  Jerome  Dutton, 
N.  B.     Tell  C.  A.  Pearsall  to  write  to  me.- 

iHis  nephew,  eldest  son  of  Charles. 

^As  indicated  in  this  letter,  he  forwarded  his  journal  by  mail  to  hi^ 
brother  Le  Roy  Dec.  29th,  1850.  The  journal  had  taken  up  about  a  third 
only  of  the  little  volume  in  which  it  was  written,  and  on  some  of  its  un- 
used pages  he  wrote  Letter  No.  5.  The  gold  dollar  mentioned  below  is 
now  in  the  possession  of  his  nephew,  H.  G.  Dutton,  a  son  of  Charles  E)ut- 
ton. 


480  ANNALS  OF  IOWA 

Letter  No.  5.^ 

Natpma,  Dec.  28th,  1850.     ' 
Dear  Brother: — 

Sitting  by  your  fireside  these  long  winter  evenings  with 
nothing  to  busy  yourself  one  would  think  you  would  write 
(to  your  far  distant  brother)  often.  Ever  since  I  have  been 
here  I  have  sent  to  the  city  every  opportunity  for  letters,  but 
have  been  disappointed,  until  last  Monday  I  went  to  the  city 
and  received  your  No.  1.  Many  a  night  have  I  laid  down  on 
the  ground  with  my  head  to  the  fire  to  try  to  write  something 
that  would  interest  you,  but,  after  all,  have  received  but  one 
letter  yet,  and  I  had  almost  come  to  the  conclusion  to  write 
no  more. 

But  the  fact  of  it  is  I  do  not  have  time  to  write.  While 
we  were  mining  I  worked  every  day,  except  Sunday,  until  the 
20th  of  November.  We  had  some  rain  about  this  time  and  the 
river  rose  and  we  had  to  suspend  operations  for  this  year. 
Lorenzo  and  the  writer  had,  after  working  all  this  time  and 
earning  about  $50  by  working  nights  for  the  company,  about 
$2.40  between  us.  That  is  what  we  had  left  after  paying  for 
our  share  in  the  company.  We  still  own  our  share  and  I  ex- 
pect we  will  work  it  another  year. 

If  William  had  gone  home  I  should  have  sent  you  $100,  but 
he  concluded  to  stay,  and  we  all  went  in  together  and  bought 
a  trading  house  here  and  keep  a  provision  and  grocery  store. 
We  bought  two  teams.  William  and  myself  drive  the  teams 
and  Lorenzo  tends  the  store.  We  are  27  miles  from  the  city. 
We  have  5  cents  per  pound  for  hauling  here.  The  difficulty 
is  that  we  cannot  get  as  much  hauling  as  we  can  do,  and  when 
we  have  to  lay  idle  the  teams  are  a  great  expense.  You  may 
judge  for  yourself:  We  pay  8  cents  per  pound  for  barley 
at  the  city  and  from  6  to  20  cents  per  pound  for  hay.  We 
get  it  for  6  cents  in  the  city,  but  at  Hangtown,  a  distance 
of  50  miles,  we  have  to  pay  20  and  for  hauling  to  Hangtown 


^Written  on  a  fly  leaf  of  the  Journal:  "Natoma  (this  is  the  Spanish 
for  Mormon  Island).  I  have  sealed  a  gold  dollar  in  the  fore  part  of  this 
book.  I  want  you  to  give  that  to  father.  It  is  the  first  I  ever  saw. — 
Jerome." 


ACROSS   THE   PLAINS   IN   1850  481 

^e  get  from  8  to  10  cents  per  pound.  Business  of  all  kinds 
is  over  done  here.  There  are  too  many  stores,  too  many  teams, 
too  many  taverns  for  any  of  them  to  make  their  pile  right 
<iuick,  but  I  am  in  hopes  that  business  will  be  more  brisk  in 
the  spring.  At  any  rate  I  think  we  will  do  very  well.  We 
,gave  $600  apiece  for  our  teams,  that  is,  $1,200  for  eight  mules 
and  harness  and  two  wagons. 

Lorenzo  is  well;  William  is  also  well.  I  have  been  well 
•ever  since  we  quit  mining.  Before  that  time  I  was  in  the 
water  more  or  less  every  day,  and  was  quite  unwell.  Was  trou- 
bled with  the  rheumatism  so  that  I  could  not  rest  nights,  but 
since  we  have  commenced  business  I  have  had  good  health, 
and  have  got  fat  once  more  and  weigh  182  1-2. 

I  will  now  say  a  few  words  in  relation  to  the  country.  We 
have  very  pretty  weather  at  present,  clear,  sunshiny  days, 
cool,  frosty  nights.  The  winter  is  very  light  so  far.  Last 
year  at  this  time  the  roads  were  almost  impassable  in  conse- 
quence of  the  heavy  rains  converting  the  soil  into  an  ocean 
of  mud. 

The  country  from  here  to  the  city  is  a  very  pretty  country. 
It  is  tolerably  level,  and  is  nearly  all  what  we  would  call  oak 
openings,  being  thinly  covered  with  short,  scrubby  oaks.  The 
soil  I  think  but  little  of,  being  red  gravel,  and  sandy  in  places. 
Among  the  birds  of  this  country  is  the  magpie,  a  most  beauti- 
ful bird — and  in  walking  through  the  timber  you  frequently 
see  the  much  famed  mistletoe  bough  growing  out  of  a  tree  of 
oak  without  being  grafted;  different  boughs  and  different 
leaves  and  always  green.  Among  the  animals  here  is  the 
Kiota,  a  small  prairie  wolf,  the  Tarantula,  of  the  spider 
species,  as  large  as  your  hand,  covered  with  short  hairs  and 
said  to  be  very  poisonous.  The  next,  a  scorpion,  is  built 
■  similar  to  a  crawfish.  They  have  a  stinger  in  their  tail ;  they 
grasp  their  prey  in  their  claws  and  then  throw  their  tail  for- 
ward and  sting,  and  are  very  poisonous. 

There  are  several  tavern  keepers  here  who  are  sowing  bar- 
ley on  the  road,  and  a  good  many  are  going  into  it  quite  ex- 


482  ANNALS   OF   IOWA 

tensively,  but  I  have  my  doubts  about  their  raising  much  of  a 
crop  without  irrigating  the  ground. 

Now,  one  word  in  relation  to  emigrating  here.  Say  to  all 
of  my  friends:  Stay  at  home.  Tell  my  enemies  to  come.  I 
would  not  want  a  worse  punishment  inflicted  on  any  person 
on  earth  than  to  have  to  come  here  across  the  plains,  and  it 
is  the  worst  place  to  spoil  a  young  man  in  the  world.  In 
Sacramento  City  there  are  no  less  than  four  long  gambling 
houses  that  have  four  musicians  hired  to  play  every  night. 
In  one  they  have  four  singers,  two  women  and  two  men  that 
sing  at  intervals  every  night.  In  addition  to  this  you  can  sit 
down  to  a  gaming  table  beside  a  lady  and  do  your  betting, 
and  you  know^  this  is  a  temptation  hard  to  resist.  I  have  seen 
women  take  their  seat  at  a  Monte  table  and  bet  their  ounce 
on  a  single  card  as  cool  as  I  would  pay  two  bits  for  a  card  of 
ginger  bread. 

Tell  friend  George  Atherton  by  all  means  to  stay  where  he 
is,  but  if  he  will  come,  come  by  water.  If  I  had  time  I  would 
write  how  a  man  should  rig  himself  to  come,  as  I  am  confident 
that  if  I  had  it  to  do  over  I  could  come  more  comfortably. 

R.  S.  Dickinson  is  in  the  city  keeping  tavern.  Scott  I 
have  not  seen  nor  heard  from.  I  Avish  you  would  let  me  know 
where  he  is,  if  he  has  written  home.  James,  Abner  and  Josiah 
are  still  on  Methenis  creek.  We  got  a  letter  from  James. 
They  were  well.    Josiah  had  killed  two  black  tailed  deer. 

Stewart,  poor  fellow,  was  unfortunate.  If  you  see  him  give 
him  my  respects.  Tell  him  he  must  write  to  me.  I  wrote 
to  him  at  the  Bluffs,  but  have  received  no  answer.  I  was  glad 
to  hear  that  Cyrus  and  Richard  are  coming  out  and  I  wish 
them  good  luck  in  their  undertakings. 

But  I  am  so  confused  that  I  can  scarcely  write,  writing  in 
our  store  on  the  head  of  a  barrel.  Some  are  talking  about 
coming  around  the  Horn,  some  are  playing  cards,  and  one  has 
just  "hollered,"  "High,  Jack,  Game,"  and  all  this  on  Sun- 
day !  This  is  the  busiest  day  of  the  week.  Let  me  know  how 
you  manage  my  affairs,  that  note  of  Rogers,  for  instance. 


ACROSS  THE   PLAINS   IN   1850  483 

Lorenzo  says  he  will  write  before  long.  He  did  not  like  Will- 
iam Wicks  manouvering  very  well.  Let  me  know  if  there 
were  any  letters  came  for  me,  and  who  lives  on  the  Wicks 
place.  If  you  could  make  a  good  trade — my  farm  for  the 
Buena  Vista  place  (Buena  Vista  Ferry)  do  so.  There  was  a 
man  offered  me  $500  for  my  place  and  he  had  never  seen  it, 
but  had  been  through  the  country  and  knoAvs  what  it  is.  But 
I  think  more  of  my  place  than  when  I  was  there. 

But  I  will  draw  to  a  close,  and  will  try  to  write  oftener. 
Then  I  shall  not  have  to  write  so  long. 

Give  my  respects  to  all. 
LeRoy  Dutton.  Jerome  Dutton. 


End. 


484  ANNALS   OF   IOWA 


WILLIAM  FLETCHER  KING.^ 

BY  ROLLO  F.   HURLBURT,   D.   D., 

Pastor  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Iowa  City,  Iowa. 

When  Charles  II  of  England  visited  the  Westminster  school 
under  the  headship  of  the  famous  Richard  Busby,  the  great 
Master  did  not  take  off  his  hat  in  the  presence  of  his  monarch, 
lest  to  remove  it  before  his  scholars  might  lower  their  opinion 
of  the  rank  and  dignity  of  the  teacher's  high  calling.  Where- 
upon the  King  frankly  confessed  that  the  teacher  there  out- 
ranked the  King. 

In  the  realm  of  Brain  Power  and  Heart  Power,  the  real 
King  of  the  17th  century  in  English  History  was  not  Charles 
the  Second,  but  Richard  Busby.  For  the  greatest  masters  in 
English  Literature  and  the  most  illustrious  men  in  Church 
and  in  State  of  that  period,  were  trained  in  Westminster 
school  under  the  remarkable  tutelage  of  Richard  Busby. 

The  class-room  of  the  Teacher  continues  to  be  the  command- 
ing source  of  greatest  power  and  of  widest  influence.  It  has 
well  been  said  that  institutions  are  but  the  lengthened  shadows 
of  the  men  who  originate  them.  The  visible  and  tangible  re- 
sults that  have  come  from  the  consecrated  life  of  him  in  whose 
honor  we  are  assembled  to-night,  show  how  large  a  place  he 
has  made  for  himself  in  the  educational  history  of  the  State 
of  Iowa. 

William  Fletcher  King  came  to  Iowa  in  1862,  and  began 
his  educational  work  in  that  year  in  this  State  as  the  Pro- 
fessor of  Ancient  Languages  in  Cornell  College.    In  1863  he 


*An  address  delivered  in  the  Art  Gallery  of  the  Historical  Department 
of  Iowa,  on  the  Installation  of  a  portrait  of  Dr.  King,  by  Ralph  Clark- 
son,  June  16,  1910. 


